Oilers' Stuart Skinner to Start Over Calvin Pickard in NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 6

The Edmonton Oilers are turning back to Stuart Skinner for Tuesday's must-win Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Skinner told reporters he would start against the Florida Panthers during Tuesday morning's media availability in Sunrise.

Skinner, who was pulled from Game 3 and Game 4, watched from the bench as Calvin Pickard and the Oilers suffered a 5-2 loss in Saturday's Game 5.

The Panthers lead the series 3-2 and could win the Stanley Cup with a victory at home on Tuesday night.

The Oilers also appear ready to slot defenseman John Klingberg and winger Kasperi Kapanen back into the lineup while sidelining Viktor Arvidsson and Troy Stecher, according to line rushes shared by TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

When asked about the decision to return to Skinner and Klingberg, head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters, “We felt that those two give us the best opportunity to win."

"Stuart’s been in a lot of high pressure games. He was on six of those games last year. We have a lot of confidence in him," Knoblauch said, per CBC's Min Dhariwal.

Skinner and Pickard have shared starts throughout the Oilers' playoff run, with Pickard leading his team to a first-round series victory over the Los Angeles Kings before Skinner stepped up to cover for him when Pickard was injured while playing the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round.

Most recently, however, Skinner was pulled from Game 3 of the final with 16:33 remaining in the third period after allowing five goals on 23 shots.

Pickard finished out the game with one goal allowed on eight shots as the Oilers were held off the scoreboard for the remainder of the 6-1 loss.

Skinner was then pulled again in Game 4, this time after allowing three goals on 17 shots as the Oilers suffered a complete defensive collapse in the first period.

Pickard came in to turn aside 22 of 23 shots and stood strong in extra time as the Oilers claimed a 5-4 overtime win that tied the series.

That performance earned Pickard the start in Game 5, but he was unable to cover for the Oilers' offensive and defensive struggles as he allowed four goals on 18 shots in a 5-2 defeat.

"From what I saw, Picks didn't have much chance on those goals," head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the Game 5 loss, per NHL.com. "Breakaways, shots through screens, slot shots. There's nothing saying it was a poor performance."

Knoblauch also said at the time that he didn't "put any of the blame" on Skinner despite his early exits from the Oilers' prior two games.

The Oilers will need both the biggest performance of Skinner's career as well as productive nights from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to stop the Panthers from repeating as Stanley Cup champions on Tuesday night.